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Help! Prostitutes Have Taken Over TV News

In the last year, I have stopped watching TV news and the Sunday morning talking-heads shows. I now get my news from various newspapers and magazines online (and Jon Stewart). Of course, like most people, I gravitate to news sources that affirm my core beliefs. We all like to feel like we “get it.” The good news is that I probably spend six hours a week less time getting my “news.” My challenge: to break out of the idea incest so many of us suffer from when we choose our news sources.

A year ago, I had a hunch that there would be more demands on my time than ever, and that the political discussions on TV would be less productive than ever. (How many hours have you dedicated to following the health care “debate” in the last year? And, looking back, what did that earn you?) And I also had a strong feeling that the shapers of public opinion were corrupt — men and women who were selling their souls to get on the air or keep their advertisers happy, or worse, were actually secretly paid consultants of corporations with an agenda. Then, recently, in The Nation (an admittedly very liberal magazine, March 1, 2010 issue), I read Sebastian Jones’ article “The Media-Lobbying Complex.” Here’s an excerpt:

President Obama spent a day touring Allentown, Pennsylvania, meeting with local workers and discussing the economic crisis. A few hours later, Pennsylvania’s former governor, Tom Ridge, was on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, offering up his own recovery plan. He said, “The real answer for the White House is for the president to take his green agenda and blow it out of the box.” The first step, Ridge explained, was to “create nuclear power plants.” This was an “innovation setter” that would “create jobs and create exports.” While Ridge was presented as and sounded like an objective commentator, TV viewers weren’t told that in the last five years he’s received over half a million dollars serving on the board of Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power company (or that he owns a quarter million dollars of their stock). I believe marketers at Exelon gave him those talking points.

Moments earlier, on the same show, retired general and “NBC Military Analyst” Barry McCaffrey told viewers that the war in Afghanistan would require an additional “three- to ten-year effort” and “a lot of money.” He’s the perfect on-air package combining the credibility and service history of a US general with the likability of a caring grandpa. I wanted to like him and believe him. And for years I have. But MSNBC neglected to tell viewers that McCaffrey, their “military analyst,” was paid nearly $200,000 this year alone by DynCorp. Our government had just granted DynCorp a five-year $6 billion deal to supply American forces in Afghanistan. The first year is locked in at $644 million, but the additional four options are subject to renewal, contingent on military needs and political realities. And a man who served his country with such nobility is now selling his soul by using his credibility to get in on the easy money lavished on our military by promoting his benefactor on air in the guise of news analysis. DynCorp gives McCaffrey his talking points and, encouraged by a fawning “news anchor,” a naïve populace believes him. People die, debt grows, and some get wealthy.

In a single hour, two men with blatant, undisclosed conflicts of interest had appeared on MSNBC.

For years, like most of the American public, I let consultants like these shape my opinion about important issues like war and energy. All news in America (even PBS news) is a mix of news, entertainment, and propaganda. We can’t hope for CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News to provide serious journalism. But we can hope that Americans understand how corporate interests shape the political discourse in our nation these days.

By simply no longer watching, I find there’s less political noise in my world and more time to simply live. And I don’t even miss the talking heads I once thought were a plus in my life. (My practical time-saving tip: I get my news at stray, otherwise wasted moments throughout the day from my iPhone apps.)

How does a conservative or liberal get news that challenges rather than affirms their beliefs? As a traveler, I went to El Salvador three times — both during and after their civil war — to get a handle on that complicated struggle. I went to Iran to understand the mindset of the people who elected their president. I toured the medical marijuana dispensaries in Oakland to understand that situation; I followed up that trip by spending a day at a (drug company-sponsored) convention of doctors and pharmacists learning about the addictive qualities of cannabis; and then I took Seattle’s top narcotics cop out for dinner. I went to Tijuana when headlines told of beheadings there in the drug wars. And I went to Shanghai to feel the energy of the new Chinese economic power. I even went to Papua New Guinea to see if modern Christian mission work had progressed beyond “bras and Bibles.” Sure, you can learn lots by going on “field trips.” But trips like these are both time- and money-consuming.

Way back in 1973, I took a high school elective class called “Understanding the Media.” Today, understanding the media would be considered subversive and certainly not worthy of public school curriculum. But we can share insights and tips with each other. How can we use the media to better understand what the heck’s going on? After all…that’s what the news media is for.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..